Bengals LB Nick Vigil To Miss Time
Bengals linebacker Nick Vigil suffered a sprained MCL against the Steelers on Sunday and will be sidelined for roughly a month, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Vigil, a third-round pick in 2016, started 11 games for the Bengals in 2017 before ankle and back injuries landed him on injured reserve. His most recent health issue doesn’t figure to shelve him for the season, but it does sound like Cincinnati will be without one its starters for the next four weeks, during which the club will face the Chiefs, Buccaneers, and Saints with a bye mixed in during Week 9.
With Vigil out, the Bengals deployed backup Vincent Rey in his place against Pittsburgh. Rey figures to see the bulk of playing time with Vigil on the mend, and the 118-game veteran boasts plenty of experience on fill-in duty. Other linebackers such as Jordan Evans, Hardy Nickerson, and rookie Malik Jefferson (who has thus far played only special teams) could see more snaps alongside starters Vontaze Burfict and Preston Brown.
Vigil had been in the midst of his best season as a pro, as Pro Football Focus currently ranks him as the NFL’s 22nd-best linebacker. In six games, Vigil had managed 51 tackles plus two passes defensed.
Jaguars PR Jaydon Mickens To Miss Time
Jaguars return man Jaydon Mickens is expected to miss four-to-six weeks after fracturing his ankle against the Cowboys on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Mickens, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016, joined Jacksonville’s practice squad last September but ultimately spent 10 games on the club’s active roster. While he wasn’t much of an offensive contributor (six receptions, 77 yards), Mickens was the Jaguars’ primary punt returner, as he averaged 10.6 yards per return and scored one touchdown. This year, Mickens had also led Jacksonville in kick returns with six.
Receiver Dede Westbrook took over as the Jaguars’ punt returner after Mickens went down, while fellow pass-catcher D.J. Chark was in the endzone for kickoffs (although Cowboys kicker Brett Maher posted only touchbacks following Mickens’ injury). Backup running back Corey Grant has historically contributed in the return game, but he’s on injured reserve.
Given Mickens’ projected recovery timeline (and his limited role overall), the Jaguars will likely place him on injured reserve. Mickens would be allowed to return after an eight-game absence.
Jets S Marcus Maye To Miss 3-4 Weeks
Jets safety Marcus Maye is expected to miss three-to-four weeks after suffering a broken thumb against the Colts on Sunday, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
This isn’t the first time this year that Maye, the 39th overall pick in the 2017 draft, has dealt with injury. Maye underwent an ankle scope during the offseason, and then suffered an additional foot injury during in September. While he wasn’t placed on the physically unable to perform list to begin the season, Maye did miss the first three games of the 2018 campaign.
The Jets selected Maye and fellow safety Jamal Adams with their first two picks in last year’s draft, and the results have been outstanding thus far. Maye has handled “center field” for New York while Adams has played closer to the line of scrimmage, and Maye actually ranks higher than Adams in Pro Football Focus‘ safety grades (No. 10 vs. No. 12). On the season, Maye has managed 19 tackles, a half-sack, and one interception, one that miraculously featured a 104-yard return but not a touchdown.
With Maye out, the Jets will need to rely on their defensive back depth for the next few weeks as they face the Vikings, Bears, Dolphins, and Bills before hitting a bye in Week 11. While Doug Middleton is listed as Maye’s direct backup on New York’s official depth chart, Terrence Brooks was the defender who actually replaced Maye on Sunday, playing 29 snaps in the process.
Le’Veon Bell Not At Steelers Facility
Le’Veon Bell is not at the Steelers facility today as he continues his holdout, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Bell had been expected to report to the Steelers during the club’s Week 7 bye, and there is still a possibility he could do so. As Kinkhabwala reports, Pittsburgh had meetings today, will practice Tuesday and Wednesday, and then is off until next Monday. Bell could conceivably report later this week, or wait until the Steelers begin preparations for Week 8.
If Bell does report this week and sign his franchise tag, he’d be entitled to his weekly salary of $855K. However, the Steelers could potentially use a roster exemption for Bell, which would allow the club to withhold his pay. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained earlier this month, Bell and the Steelers would need to agree to a pay rate if and when Bell is placed on the exempt list.
At last check, Bell hasn’t informed the Steelers of his exact plans. However, when he does show up, the Steelers are expected to use a running back tandem of both Bell and incumbent James Conner, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently campaigned for Conner, who is currently second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns and fifth in rushing yards, to retain a role once Bell returns.
Lions To Place CB Jamal Agnew On IR
The Lions will place cornerback/return man Jamal Agnew on injured reserve with a knee injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Agnew, 23, earned All-Pro honors as a specialist during his rookie season in 2017 after leading the NFL in punt return yardage and average, and also scored two touchdowns on special teams. His prowess in the kicking game had continued into this season, but Agnew had also been asked to play more on defense, where his playtime percentage had jumped from just 7.8% a year ago to 36.3% in 2018. Pro Football Focus gave Agnew poor marks for his coverage abilities, however, grading him as a bottom-10 cornerback.
While he’s heading to injured reserve, Agnew could potentially return later this season if the Lions are making a playoff push, per Schefter. NFL rules stipulate a minimum eight-game absence for Agnew, meaning he could return in mid-December if Detroit is in contention. At present, the Lions aren’t a likely playoff team, as FiveThirtyEight.com gives the 2-3 Detroit club just a 25% chance of earning a postseason berth.
With Agnew out, cornerbacks Teez Tabor and DeShawn Shead could see more snaps behind starters Darius Slay and Nevin Lawson. On special teams, running back Ameer Abdullah could potentially be activated for only the second time this season in order to take over on kick and punt returns.
5 Key NFL Stories: 10/7/18 – 10/14/18
Le’Veon Bell nearing return? Bell had been expected to report to the Steelers during in advance of their Week 7 bye, but he’s yet to officially inform the club of his plans. Unhappy with being franchise-tagged for a second consecutive season, Bell hasn’t been with the club since January. James Conner has filled in with aplomb, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wants Conner to retain a role even after Bell returns. It’s possible the Steelers could still trade Bell, although he could effectively quash that effort by not reporting until after the October 30 trade deadline.
Eagles lose Jay Ajayi. Philadelphia has been linked to a possible Bell trade for some time, and now the club has even more incentive to add another running back after Ajayi went down with a torn ACL. However, the Eagles reportedly don’t view running back as a glaring need area, so a trade may not be likely. Without Ajayi in tow, Philadelphia deployed a combination of Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood in its Thursday night victory over the Giants. Veteran pass-catching back Darren Sproles is currently dealing with an injury of his own but could return soon.
Giants cut bait with Ereck Flowers. At long last, the Giants ended the Flowers experiment, waiving the former top-10 pick last week. The No. 9 overall selection in the 2015 draft, Flowers started 48 games for New York over the past three-plus years, but consistently played like one of the league’s worst offensive tackles. He’d been recently benched for former undrafted free agent Chad Wheeler, months after being moved to right tackle following the Giants signing of Nate Solder. Flowers resurfaced quickly, landing in Jacksonville where former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is heading the front office.
Jamaal Charles returns to the NFL. Flowers wasn’t the only veteran inked by the Jaguars last week, as the club also brought in former Chiefs/Broncos running back Jamaal Charles. Leonard Fournette is out indefinitely with a hamstring issue, and although T.J. Yeldon has proven more than capable of shouldering the load for Jacksonville, the team had little depth after placing Corey Grant on injured reserve. Enter Charles, who hasn’t played this season after spending the 2017 campaign with Denver. Now 31 years old, Charles hasn’t been effective since 2014, but he won’t be asked to do much behind Yeldon.
Buccaneers lock up a key OL. Tampa Bay hasn’t been shy about extending its key young players, and they continued that trend last week, locking up offensive lineman Ali Marpet to a five-year, $55MM deal that contains $27.125MM in guarantees. Marpet, a 2015 second-round pick out of Division III Hobart, has been extremely versatile during his NFL career, playing both right guard and center before settling in at left guard this year. Among left guards, Marpet’s $11MM annual average now ranks third, behind only Andrew Norwell and Kelechi Osemele, while his guarantee figure ranks second.
Vikings Fear CB Mike Hughes Has Torn ACL
The Viking believe rookie cornerback Mike Hughes suffered a torn ACL against the Cardinals, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Hughes will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.
Hughes, 21, was the Vikings’ first-round pick (No. 30 overall) in the 2018 draft, but he’s played starter’s snaps despite Minnesota head coach’s Mike Zimmer‘s usual reticence to deploy rookies. Hughes has played primarily in the slot for the Vikings, but he’s also been asked to play outside while fellow corner Trae Waynes deals with injury.
All in all, Hughes has played like a slightly-below average cornerback during his rookie campaign. Pro Football Focus grades Hughes as the No. 69 corner among 119 qualifiers, while he ranks 35th among 66 qualifiers in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks’ ability to stop opposing receivers short of the sticks. FO also charts Hughes with allowing 9.1 yards per pass, good for 48th among corners.
If Hughes is indeed out for the year, the Vikings will turn to Mackensie Alexander to man the slot, while Holton Hill could conceivably also see more snaps. Jalen Myrick is the only corner on Minnesota’s practice squad, and he could be a candidate to be promoted to the active roster. If the Vikings want to look at the free agent market, they could look at options such as David Amerson, Tony Lippett, Jeremy Lane, or Sterling Moore.
Latest On Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell
Despite reports that running back Le’Veon Bell would report to the Steelers in advance of their Week 7 bye, Pittsburgh has yet to hear from Bell himself and is unsure of his plans, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Bell, of course, is holding out to express displeasure with being franchise-tagged for the second consecutive season. When he does report and sign his tender, Bell will earn a prorated portion of a one-year, $14.544MM salary. However, if Bell were to report during the Steelers’ bye week, Pittsburgh could hypothetically deploy a roster exemption, which would enable the club to withhold pay from Bell during that week, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Bell didn’t participate in any offseason activities with the Steelers, so he hasn’t been present with the team since January. Indeed, one Pittsburgh teammate said it would be “weird” if Bell does report this week, specifically because of Bell’s long absence, tweets Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com. Last week, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger campaigned for James Conner, who’s been filling in admirably at running back, to retain a role even once Bell returns.
“I will push for James to get as much run as we can because we’ve seen some great things from him in all phases of football,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s picking up blitzes, he’s catching the ball, he’s running hard and making plays and playing with a passion, so we need to keep using that.”
Bell could still possibly be traded, as the Steelers have reportedly been shopping him in recent weeks. However, the Eagles, who were viewed as a leading contender for Bell, don’t believe running back is a glaring area of need. If Bell doesn’t want to be dealt, he would simply wait to sign his franchise tag until after the October 30 trade deadline, as unsigned players cannot be moved, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets.
PFR Originals: 10/7/18 – 10/14/18
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- With nearly a third of the 2018 regular season in the books, I asked PFR readers which embattled team will be picking first overall in the 2019 draft. Using Football Outsiders’ playoff/draft orders odds, I listed the Cardinals, 49ers, Bills, Raiders, Giants, and Falcons as six clubs that could conceivably be on the clock when the season ends. More than a quarter of respondents believe the Giants will end up with the No. 1 pick, while the Cardinals came in second.
- The Cardinals are performing like one of the NFL’s worst teams through five weeks, leading to speculation that Arizona could trade a number of veteran players, including running back David Johnson, linebackers Haason Reddick and Deone Bucannon, and cornerback Patrick Peterson. While Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has downplayed those rumors, it’s still fair to look at whether such deals would make sense. With that in mind, Andrew Ortenberg asked PFR readers if the Cardinals should trade Johnson.
- Back in July, Zach Links asked readers which NFL head coach would the the first to be fired in 2018, and the Buccaneers’ Dirk Koetter took the cake at that time. Koetter may have bought himself some with given Tampa Bay’s hot start, but other coaches are surely in danger of losing their jobs. When Zach once again queried PFR readers on the topic this week, the Broncos’ Vance Joseph and the Cowboys’ Jason Garrett took the top two slots.
Extra Points: Steelers, Jaguars, Saints, Bills
Running back Le’Veon Bell is expected to report to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hoping incumbent back James Conner will retain a role within the club’s offense even after Bell returns. “I will push for James to get as much run as we can because we’ve seen some great things from him in all phases of football,” Roethlisberger told Sean Gentille of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s picking up blitzes, he’s catching the ball, he’s running hard and making plays and playing with a passion, so we need to keep using that.” Conner, a third-round pick in 2017, is currently fifth in the NFL in rushing attempts and seventh in rushing yards, and he’s scored five times on the ground.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- T.J. Yeldon has been the primary ball-carrier for the Jaguars while Leonard Fournette deals with a hamstring injury, and that doesn’t figure to change even after Jacksonville signed veteran running back Jamaal Charles earlier this week, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). The Jaguars also added running back David Williams off the Broncos’ practice squad, and while they could look to slightly lighten Yeldon’s load, he’ll still remain the main option in Jacksonville’s backfield. With Corey Grant injured last Sunday, Yeldon handled 92% of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps, managing 122 total yards and one touchdown in the process.
- The Saints added two voidable years to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater‘s contract after acquiring him from the Jets earlier this year, and Nick Underhill of the Advocate (Twitter link) has provided a few more details on the restructure. Bridgewater’s deal will automatically void 10 days prior to the start of the 2019 league year next March, so his 2019 and 2020 base salaries — each of which is valued at $22MM — will never factor into New Orleans’ books. However, once Bridgewater’s contract voids, his future signing bonus proration will immediately accelerate onto the Saints’ salary cap, meaning the club will take on an extra $2.71MM next spring.
- Derek Anderson‘s one-year deal with the Bills is worth a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum of $1.015MM, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Anderson received a minimum salary benefit deal, meaning he’ll only count against Buffalo’s salary cap at the rate of a second-year player plus his signing bonus, which accounts for a total cap charge of $503,326. The 35-year-old Anderson spent the past seven seasons as a backup to Cam Newton in Carolina, and attempted just 168 passes during that time. He’ll mentor rookie quarterback Josh Allen in Buffalo.